Meet Lisa Triepke – Candidate For Mayor of Missoula

She's a single mom who is tired of what have been called inevitable tax increases by a man who many say could be 'mayor for life'.

Lisa Triepke

She is Lisa Triepke, and she had her first opportunity to meet the public and the media on Tuesday afternoon before a small but enthusiastic crowd at the Iron Horse, just blocks from City Hall.

"The two things that led me to run for mayor were the fact that the current administration came out and said they were 'Mayor for life', and that our taxes were going to rise every year," Triepke began. "Instead of sitting back and complaining about it, after we delved into the viability of the campaign, it seemed like it was better to step up and do something."

Triepke said she would have handled issues such as acquiring Mountain Water Company through the process of condemnation and the construction of the walking bridge over South Reserve differently than the present administration.

"I think somehow we need to find a way to get feedback from the voters, and actual feedback, rather than just saying we talked to our constituents," she said. "We need to reach out to the community and get some input, not just at the election but after, to keep people engaged."

Triepke said the technology exists to be able to poll the public informally to get the sense of how voters are feeling about any certain subject, and to listen to their concerns before committing the city to a potentially expensive course of action.

Spiker Communications produced two visually arresting campaign images for Triepke's campaign, one with a photo of the new South Reserve Walking Bridge, and another representing increasing taxes.

Lisa Triepke

Lisa Triepke 3

Triepke said she has no specific ax to grind with the present Mayor John Engen, who is running for his fourth term in office.

"I don't have any agenda, honestly, other than to help get the out-of-control spending under control, and to help the voters feel they actually have a voice in how their city is going," she said.

Triepke said she was going to run a 'middle-of-the-road' campaign based on maximizing limited resources, and to gain control of unnecessary spending.